Reviews by jbuckley1972:

More User Reviews:

I love HOD offerings and have been looking forward to this for awhile,first off all the Mother Earth garble on the bottle is annoying but that wont cloud my judgement of this beer.I poured this into an oversized wine glass and holy smokes what a gigantic head on this puppy it took up 3/4 of the glass and nearly went over underneath all that foam was a peachy colored hazed body.Great hop profile in the nose I get leafy herballness and grapefruit quite resiny,who this a bitter DIPA very dry and resiny wow,piney and resiny to the hilt someone leafy with a hint of tea a bone dry cracker malt presence is noticed but barely.Wow this is different somewhat yeasty and like others have noted there is a hint of Belgian quality in its flavors,the dryness in my mind can become a bit much so this is one and done for me no doubt,still a damn good brew for the hophead and quite unique.

Appearance - This ale poured a deep, rich orange in color with a huge, white head that pitted on top of the liquid as it went down. It is very inviting and looks like a real "heavy-hitter".

Smell - The giant, complex hop profile begged to be smelled. The floral characteristics first caught the attention of my olfactory bulb, but the luscious tangerine and stiff pine resin soon followed. There's actually a nice malt balance to this nose, but after smelling the hops it's almost like, "who cares?"

Taste - This one didn't fail to deliver the aroma at the taste. The big hops sweeten up at the taste, which makes me think that they may have hit the "IBU wall" when putting this monster together. The malt backbone comes on much stronger at the tongue, earning its "Imperial IPA" designation.

Mouthfeel - This Double IPA is somewhere in between medium and full in the body with a thick, greasy mouthfeel and a heavy bitter finish.

Drinkability - Well, the BAs that didn't start out with this ended up with it at the end of the Brouwer's Café "Hopfest" night. And, at 9.0 ABV, there were a lot of happy new HOTD fans by the end of the evening.

Update - I tucked away a few '07 bottles to pop in early 2010 just to see how the cellaring brought up that famous HOTD maltiness. Sure enough, the raunchy yeast came on like a banshee, well, more like a barley wine, and the big hops were still able to keep a presence in the flavor profile and really stayed quite bitter at the finish. If you are in love with the hops of this beer then I would recommend drinking this fresh of course but if you like to experiment and enjoy the complexity of a mature DIPA then this is an excellent cellaring candidate.

Update - Popped a fresh '10 and this is still a classic. It's absolutely gorgeous to behold, smells and tastes like a huge DIPA without going over the top, and is incredibly smooth especially given the ABV. (1,911 characters)

Blue Dot is named after planet Earth, the only blue planet in this universe, and brewed in honor of Earth Day, with organic Pilsner malt, rye malt and a combo of intense hops.

Pours a cloudy (unfiltered) golden, orangey, straw color, topped with a thin creamy white lace with minimal stick. Somewhat pungent in the nose with tons of herbal, floral, citrus grapefruit, raw honey and fresh mint. Fairly full-bodied, thick-ish, smooth, even and creamy. Then the hops come to play with a raw leafy coarseness and big smack of grapefruit, ripe pineapple, salt, rinds, hint of soapiness (not a bad thing), and some sticky resins on the palate. This is all backed by a malt sweetness, touch of honey, and a spicy character unique to the addition of rye. There's some spice and warmth from the alcohol too. Dry and biscuity toward the finish. Tropical fruit esters on the breath.

We tried to pour slowly to allow the sediment to stay in the bottle (as recommended), but it was pretty mixed up. Regardless, this is one tasty beer that dances along the IPA and DIPA line. Not too over-the-top, it's complex and drinkable. (1,167 characters)

Winter 2010 vintage. Pours into my glass a hazy orange yellow with a quarter inch of white head on top and some bubbles rising up. Aromas start off with resinous hops upfront with notes of citrus and herbaceous floral notes. Some pine as well along with a fruity undertone. Crisp malts and a touch of spiciness. Pretty nice, pungent aroma.

First sip brings big resinous dank hops upfront with citrus and some herbal floral notes. A touch of pine as it flows down with some fruitiness and a good crisp malt body. Touch of caramel and some spiciness. Bitterness hits on the way down but overall it's well balanced.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a good solid body, well balanced I thought and easy to drink. I enjoy that it is brewed with organic pilsner malt. Overall a tasty brew and the lower ABV is nice as it makes it easy to enjoy an entire bomber. Would have this again. (882 characters)

Summer 2010I really wanted to like this beer.The theme, the environmental awareness, the respect for planet earth gave it an edge going in.The pour was a disappointment. Given its reputation for a flat pour, I was especially aggressive pouring from the bomber into a pint glass. Still, all I could muster was maybe a 1/4 inch head that retained well enough, such as it was. A lot of effervescence filled the glass that settled quickly.A taste that simply doesn't measure up to the great (in my opinion) IIPA's out there. Kind of a mellow sweetness followed by a tart aftertaste.It was good enough. That's about the best I can say. Don't hesitate to decide for yourself what you think of it. Even though I can't rave about this beer, I will continue to try other Hair of the Dog offerings. (793 characters)

Bomber at O'Briens. Poured hazy/oily orange-gold with a frothy and creamy white head. Good lacing. Soapy pine aroma, fresh-cut lemongrass, and the smell of wet wood. Passionfruit and mango in terms of hoppiness in the nose. Bitter, sharp hop bite in the taste. Lots of melon and mango with a pepper snap. Soapy up front with the resin, with the flavor of earthy and wet hops. More malt and sweetness as the beer progressed. Easily drinkable with a hearty mouthfeel. Far different from most West Coast IIPA's, more bitterness reminiscent of an English IPA, but mixed well with the citrus hops. (592 characters)

Very mirky glowing golden color let no light pass through. 1" creamy white head dissipated quickly to a thin creamy coating really comes back to life with a quick swirl. Seems well carbinated could only see bits of very tiny bubbles stringing from the sides of the glass.

Very fruity aroma pineapple,grapefruit comes through stronger as the beer warms up. Slightly burnt carmell maltiness with a slight tinge of alcohol.

Strong hoppy tastes pineapple/grapefruit also grassy and astrigent not much malt taste present. Leaves citrus rind tastes lingering on the palate. Great hop taste,now i know what hop bomb means. If you like em hoppy you'll love if you prefer balanced you might be a bit dissapionted.

Very light mouthfeel for an imperial,very creamy nitro-like feel. As drinkable as an imperial can get. Would love to drink this one again,just would like a bit more maltiness. (1,030 characters)

Pours a cloudy golden straw with almost not head but a tinge of lacing makes it down the glass. Nose is sweet and hoppy, a bit wheaty grassy.

Comes on a bit weak and then the bitterness picks up and starts to kick your ass. Sharp bitterness on the back of your tounge and a nice sweetness. Mouthfeel is a bit syrupy and sweet. Overall quite solid, my first HotD brew, looking forward to more! (440 characters)

Hazy, murky orange and yellow with a very thin white head. Not a lot of lacing.

Sweet citrus aromas, along with caramel and bready malts, some floral notes, and peppery spice as well. Interesting.

A well balanced DIPA, though it is very bitter. The citrus is balanced in unison with floral and spicy flavors, and a sweet, bready backbone.

Medium to thick bodied, though it doesn't seem at all syrupy.

A tasty, interesting DIPA. Very bitter, though balanced well with sweet and bready malts and an interesting floral and peppery kick as well. While no characteristic of this beer particularly impresses, I think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's a joy to drink. (735 characters)

Didn't know what to think about this, Hair of the Dog, traditionally a high gravity brewery, from what I've had, but yet, this double ipa clocks in at a relatively low 7%

Appearance, looks like it has a decent amount of heft and malt to it. Average head, dark yellow, notes of orange to it. Taste, very good, manages balance without being boring. Manages to hold up throughout the bottle, doesn't diminish, remains very drinkable, a pleasant surprise of a not over the top double ipa. Good amount of bitterness, would have liked to have experienced more hop flavor with this one, but hey, good is good. (603 characters)

This beer pours a slightly cloudy orangish yellow color, with a thick and fluffy white head. The head fades very slowly, leaving a great lace.

This beer has a very strong grapefruit aroma. I can detect some floral hops also. This beer also has a slight piney aroma. A very subtle sweet malt aroma is present.

This beer has a very aggressive grapefruit citrusy flavor. These is a strong malty flavor also though. It is very well balanced. It has a slight piney flavor. This beer has a slightly spicy rye like flavor that I didnt notice in the aroma.

This beer is full bodied. It leaves a grapefruit like aftertaste. Carbonation is well for the style.

This beer might make a decent session beer. It isnt too high in alcohol, and the flavor, while aggressive, isnt overpowering.

Overall: Great beer. It isnt as over the top as I was expecting. It is refreshing, and easy to drink. (883 characters)